Wolves the likely losers in oilsands fight

An Alberta First Nation is promising a legal fight against an oilsands project that the province and industry have acknowledged could contribute to the local extinction of two caribou herds, and would likely involve a wolf culling program.

Some say the wolves are being used as a scapegoat for the development.

Fort McKay First Nation Chief Jim Boucher said he wants to talk with provincial officials about the Alberta Energy Regulator’s recent approval of Brion Energy’s Dover Commercial Project. The First Nation will take the matter to court unless its concerns are addressed, he said.

“We have to protect and preserve our resources, and we will do whatever is necessary to accomplish that,” he said. “It is a given when it comes to the effects the decision will have on local caribou herds.”

The First Nation, which has worked hand in hand with oil and gas companies for decades, objected only to a portion of the project that proposes well pads within 1.2 kilometres of a preserve where members hunt, fish, trap and participate in other traditional activities…